Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 Ranking of Notre Dame in USA Today's poll on best college football uniforms. Oregon, with its myriad different versions, took the top spot, followed by Michigan, Texas, the Fighting Irish and Auburn. Geor- gia, USC, Alabama, Boise State and Ohio State rounded out the top 10. The write-up on the Notre Dame uniforms said: "The navy jersey, gold pants and gold-flecked helmet combo is classic." 5.3 Viewership rating of last year's Notre Dame-Michigan game, per Sports Media Watch. It was the fifth-highest rated game during the regular season and seventh overall when you include the conference title games. This year's Irish-Wolverines showdown will be the last regular-season contest between the two in the foreseeable future. 12 Notre Dame players from the state of California on the 2014 roster, the largest representation from a single state this sea- son. Six of the 12 are walk-ons — not including former preferred walk- on and current starting senior Mike linebacker Joe Schmidt, who was placed on scholarship in 2013. Texas and Illinois have 11 players apiece, while Ohio has 10. 19.02 Points per game allowed by Notre Dame in head coach Brian Kelly's first four seasons (2010-13), ranking the Irish ninth nationally during that stretch. The highest figure was 22.38 in his first season. The eight teams with lower marks are Alabama (11.62), Florida State (15.40), LSU (17.15), Michigan State (17.48), Boise State (18.02), Wisconsin (18.76), and Louisville and Stanford (18.85). 66/1 Bovada's final preseason odds for Notre Dame winning the inaugural College Football Playoff — double since January, when the Irish opened at 33/1. Defending champion Florida State has the best odds in the nation at 4/1, followed by Alabama at 5/1 and Oregon at 15/2. Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson's odds of winning the Heisman Trophy are 20/1 after opening at 25/1 in January. Golson is tied for ninth-best odds. 1925 The year Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne (1918-30) won the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 to clinch the school's first consensus national title. Rockne's team, led by the Four Horsemen, defeated Stanford 27-10 — and now 90 years later Rockne is being inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. Joining him in this year's class is 1974-75 UCLA head coach Dick Vermeil and 1992-94 Penn State running back Ki-Jana Carter. Those three addi- tions now give the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame 113 members. UNDER THE DOME BY THE NUMBERS